Results of Archaeological Reconnaissance and Testing of Previously Unsurveyed Floodplains and 35 Archaeology Site in the R.B. Russell Multi Resources Area Georgia And Sc.

Thunderbird Research Corporation archeologists conducted an archeological reconnaissance and site testing program of selected portions of the previously unsurveyed portions of the Savannah River floodplains and 35 archeological sites in the Richard B. Russell Multiple Resource Area, Elbert and Hart Counties, Georgia, and Abbeville and Anderson Counties, South Carolina. This work was conducted under contract to Interagency Archeological Services --Atlanta, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers --Savannah District. Field investigations took place during September and October of 1979 and May through September of 1980 and consisted of an initial survey phase during which 49 purposeful transects were delineated and deemed worthy of investigation on the basis of their potential for containing archeological sites and their pedological and geomorphological features. In addition, 35 archeological sites were also tested in order to determine the nature, integrity and extent of these sites. Buried and surficial components from the Early Archaic through the late prehistoric Lamar periods were revealed. The data obtained from these investigations were used to make management decisions regarding mitigation of some of the sites prior to the inundation. Subsequent archeological work has been conducted at a number of these sites, thus rendering some of the information contained within this report obsolete.